GUIDELINES ON VACCINE RESERVATION

[Anchor Lead]

The reservation for AstraZeneca vaccination for those between the ages of 60 and 74 came to an end yesterday. Individuals in that age bracket who failed to make a reservation may get ‘no-show’ vaccines if they wanted. The government decided to give the leftover vaccines to the elderly first. Until now anyone who was over 30 years old could reserve to get those shots. But the government’s change in vaccination guideline generated confusion in the frontline, causing some hospitals to cancel reserved vaccinations.

[Pkg]

On the last day of vaccine reservations, local government offices were flooded with inquiries about vaccination.

[Soundbite] "Early dates are all reserved. I’m looking at other districts too."

The reservation rate among the 60-to-74 age group and kindergarten teachers reached 77.7%. Senior citizens who failed to make a reservation are still able to get the ‘no-show’ vaccines. They can make direct calls to hospitals or submit online applications through Naver or Kakao. However, younger individuals in their 30s to 50s can only apply through online means from this point on. The government’s principle is to allocate leftover vaccines to the elderly first. The sudden change in vaccination guideline caused confusion among the individuals between the ages of 30 to 59 who had already made reservations It also confused the medical institutions taking the vaccine reservations.

[Soundbite] (Individual on waiting list(In his 50s(VOICE MODIFIED))) : "I was notified that all the dates assigned on the hospital waiting lists would be cancelled."

When the confusion persisted, the government announced that the current waiting list is effective until June 9th. There was even an individual who reserved a leftover vaccine who was classified as a Janssen shot recipient even though he hadn’t asked for it and his previous reservation was cancelled without warning. He belatedly tried to reserve his spot for a Janssen vaccine, but the reservation had already been closed, leaving him with no reserved vaccine.

[Soundbite] (Reserved leftover vaccine(In his 30s(VOICE MODIFIED))) : "They said army reservist is automatically assigned a Janssen shot. I went to get an AstraZeneca vaccine, but they said I had to get a Janssen one because I was sorted as a Janssen recipient."

People in their 30s through 50s, who are most active socially, are scheduled to begin their vaccination in the latter half of the year. Health authorities plan to announce a detailed vaccination plan for them in mid-June.